If you’ve ever thought of trying acupuncture, you may wonder when would be a good time to do so. In traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture is considered a technique to balance the flow of energy — known as chi or qi (chee) — through pathways in your body through the insertion of small needles in various parts of your body. It continues to enjoy more mainstream acceptance as a treatment for a wide variety of physical, emotional and mental heath issues.
So when are the best to try acupuncture? Before you do, always consult with your doctor before you make a final decision. Also, if you decide to try acupuncture, don’t just take one treatment. Like almost anything else you do in life, first-time results are not necessarily indicative of the results you’ll get if you continue treatment for a few weeks..
1. For Chronic Neck & Back Pain
Neck and back pain are the most common reasons that people seek acupuncture treatments. And that might be because both neck and back issues are notoriously difficult to treat using standard approaches. So not only is it a good reason to try acupunture, but you might finally enjoy sustained neck and back pain relief.
2. Psychotherapy Isn’t Relieving Your Anxiety
We are all different. What works for one person may not work for another. Or it might work, but not to completely relieve symptoms. If this is the case with your anxiety — that you’ve tried therapy, but don’t feel that it’s done enough, or anything, for you — it’s a good time to try acupuncture. The goal of acupuncture is to strengthen the mind-body connection holistically. Whether in conjunction with therapy, or on its own, acupunture has been shown to significantly improve symptoms of anxiety.
3. You Have Trouble Sleeping
Lack of sleep affects you in many more ways than just making you feel tired. It can affect your moods, affect your ability to recover from pain or injury and even contribute to weight gain. Acupuncture helps to reset your circadian rhythm, which controls your sleep cycles.
4. It’s Allergy Season
If you suffer from allergies every year, and want to avoid taking antihistamines, try acupuncture. Not only has it been shown to treat allergy symptoms, but it is also linked to preventing allergies from happening in the first place.
5. You Want to Practice Preventative Medicine
Of course, it’s difficult to know when an injury or illness will strike. Considering acupuncture’s ability to treat your body’s entire system, it can also be effective as a measure of prevention against injury and illness. Using the example of back pain, almost 80% of people report back pain issues at some point in their lives. So, even if you’ve never had back problems, acupuncture can help you reduce the chances of ever experiencing them. It is also shown to strengthen your immune system, which helps keep off illness.
Do you suffer from chronic back pain? Check out our article How Physiotherapy Can Help Chronic Back Pain.
